Dancing with the Ancestors: Exótica by Amanda Piña/nadaproductions
Phrases by Giulia Casalini.
On this artistic writing textual content, I evaluation the efficiency of Chilean/Mexican/Austrian artist Amanda Piña, which premiered in June 2023 at Kunstenfestivaldesarts in Brussels.
My evaluation relies on experiencing the efficiency as a member of the general public on someday, and serving to from the backstage the next one – together with attending the post-show’s Q&A.
In Exótica, dancers Ángela Muñoz Martínez, André Bared Kabangu Bakambay, Venuri Perera, iSaAc Espinoza Hidrobo and Amanda Piña work by numerous sources and archival supplies to invoke and resurface 4 early twentieth century ‘unique’ dancers: Clemencia Piña ‘La Sarabia’ (1894–1970), Nyota Inyoka (1896–1971), François ‘Féral’ Benga (1906–1957) and Leila Bederkhan (1903-1986).
Exótica is an immersive ritual efficiency made for the theatre that tackles the issue of the persistence of the colonial gaze onto the racialised dancing our bodies and the concurrent exoticisation of non-Western dances. Via a transfeminist, border-crossing perspective, the piece reclaims and reconnects the up to date dancers to the lives and work of their forgotten ancestors.
Lastly, I observe that my proximity to Exótica has supplied me methods to interact with the work and the people who find themselves a part of it in ways in which welcome affective co-creation and deeper understanding by coming into the complexity of the piece’s worldview. This embodied engagement, I consider, is ready to produce an anti-colonial artwork writing by the strategy of important generosity.
Learn Giulia’s evaluation in full right here:
About Giulia:
Giulia Casalini’s follow spans throughout curating, efficiency, writing and analysis. Her (eco)transfeminist and queer activism has the scope of constructing and bridging communities throughout the globe by the humanities and (nature)cultures. Based mostly in London, Giulia has been the co-founder of the non-profit arts organisation Arts Feminism Queer (aka CUNTemporary, 2012-2020). She now sits on the advisory board of Mimosa Home gallery and he or she is a Techn?-funded PhD candidate, researching queer-feminist efficiency artwork from transnational and anti-colonial views. IG/TW: @queer___femme Internet: https://linktr.ee/queer_femme
